Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibrating gyroscope.
Background of the Related Art
A gyroscope is a device which may be used to measure a rate of angular rotation. Measurements of the rate of angular rotation of the gyroscope may be integrated over time in order to determine a change in the angular orientation of the gyroscope. If an initial orientation of the gyroscope is known then a determination of a change in the angular orientation of the gyroscope may be used to derive the orientation of the gyroscope at a time after the change in the angular orientation. A gyroscope may, for example, be used in applications such as inertial navigation systems (INS), ground vehicle stabilization, aircraft, ships and/or other applications.
A vibrating gyroscope is a form of gyroscope in which a resonant structure is caused to vibrate. A vibrating gyroscope may be referred to as a vibrating structure gyroscope and/or a Coriolis vibrating gyroscope (CVG). A wide variety of resonant structures may be used to form a vibrating gyroscope including rings, cylinders, hemispheres, tuning forks and beams. Vibrating gyroscopes have many advantages over traditional gyroscopes (based on a spinning mass) and over gyroscopes based on fiber-optic and/or other optical technologies. For example, vibrating gyroscopes may be cheaper than fiber optic gyroscopes, and may be smaller and include fewer parts than spinning mass gyroscopes.
It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate a disadvantage associated with known vibrating gyroscopes.